“Hope lies in dreams, in imagination and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.” – Jonas Salk

Please immunize your child following the schedule advised by his or her pediatrician.

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), the following diseases are preventable using vaccinations:

Anthrax

Cervical Cancer

Diptheria

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis B

Haemophilus influenzaetype b

Human Papillomavirus

H1N1 Flu

Influenza

Japanese Encephalitis

Lyme Disease

Measles

Meningococcal

Monkeypox

Mumps

Pertussis (Whooping Cough)

Pneumococcal

Poliomyelitis (Polio)

Rabies

Rotavirus

Rubella (German Measles)

Shingles

Smallpox

Tetanus

Tuberculosis

Typhoid Fever

Varicella (Chickenpox)

Yellow Fever

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/default.htm

According to the World Health Organization, “4.4 million children under the age of 5 died from infectious diseases in 2010, nearly all of which were preventable.”  Bear in mind, death from measles had been cut by 74% from the prior ten years.  http://www.who.int/research/en/  Which means that even with a vast improvement statistically, far too many children are dying.

In developing countries, the reason is clear: vaccines cost money both for the sera and for someone to administer it.  Developing nations don’t have the money.  Many groups are trying to rectify this situation:  the United Nations Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ShotAtLife.org, and Rotary International (to name a few).

Considering that these diseases can maim and kill, why is it that U.S. citizens with access to adequate medical care are not always vaccinating their children?  Or if they do vaccinate, they wait past the time that their pediatrician recommends?  The main reason is the Autism Spectrum/thimerosal scare of the late 1990′s.

According to a study (I have been unable to find) published in the British medical journal The Lancet (I have not been able to verify either the study or that it was published anywhere), thimerosal, which was once used as a preservative for the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine, caused Autism.  Around the time of the (alleged) study, rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder were (and I believe still are) rising.  Naturally, this news frightened parents a great deal.  Because measles, mumps, and rubella (and a large portion of vaccine-preventable diseases) seemed to be a thing of the past, some parents felt that there was no need to prevent them anymore and that, in fact, doing so would give their child autism.  Other parents felt that it would be best to immunize after age 3 (when autism usually becomes apparent).  Sadly, this completely misguided thinking gained traction until mass outbreaks of preventable diseases started in the U.S.

According to “Autism” a study by Prof. Susan Levy, MD, David S. Mandell, ScD, and Prof. Robert T. Schultz, PhD. published in The Lancet, Volume 374, Issue 9701, Pages 1627 – 1638 on 7 November 2009, “Increases over time in the frequency of these disorders (to present rates of about 60 cases per 10,000 children) might be attributable to factors such as new administrative classifications, policy and practice changes, and increased awareness.  …Autism spectrum disorders are highly genetic and multifactorial, with many risk factors acting together.”  http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)61376-3/abstract

As far back as 24 January 2003, the WHO (World Health Organization) came out with a report stating, “…no evidence exists of a causal association between MMR vaccine and autism or autistic disorders.”  http://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/topics/mmr/mmr_autism/en/  and the CDC “supports the IOM [Institute of Medicine] conclusion that there is no relationship between vaccines containing thimerosal and autism rates in children.  The IOM also recently conducted a thorough review of the current medical and scientific evidence on vaccines and certain health events that may be observed after vaccination.  It released a report in August 2011 on 8 vaccines given to children and adults that found the vaccines to be generally safe and serious adverse events following these vaccinations to be rare.”  http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/Concerns/Autism/Index.html  and just to be on the safe side, thimerosal was removed from childhood vaccines or only used in trace amounts or used in vaccines that offered a thimerosal-free option as of 2001.

So far as why scheduling is so important – infants have a brief window in which they are naturally immunized from their mothers.  After that time, if the baby contracts a preventable illness there is a much higher risk of complications, life-long crippling, or death.  This is why it is so critical to follow your pediatrician’s advice.  (Also, there are specific reasons not to immunize relating to genetic susceptibility to complications – so listen to your pediatrician.)

For a very interesting look at the life and work of a polio survivor read, “Ann Lee Hussey Will Not Sit Down,” by Jan Goodwin in Real Simple Magazine’s June 2012 issue.  http://www.realsimple.com

“Alas for those who never sing but die with all their music in them.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

I find it of note that at the same time a group of local elementary school students were preparing an assembly to prevent bullying, a national radio personality was spewing venom with a libelous personal attack on a young woman testifying before Congress on a serious topic.  I am glad that Rush Limbaugh is losing advertisers (and I hope listeners) due to his hateful remarks.  I’m not going to re-hash the story here; I’m going to take this opportunity to write a bit about the merits of debate and the radical act of kindness in speech.

While I’ve been called everything from a smart-ass to a sage, I’m the first to admit there’s a lot I don’t know and hey, I could be wrong about a lot of the things I think I know.  This is why I am fond of debate.  In a good debate, each debater argues one side of an issue using logic and evidence to prove a point.  Great debaters do not indulge in personal attacks, lies, distortions, intimidation, or any other form of rudeness.  Each respectfully makes his or her point to the other.  Using this process can illuminate the issue in meaningful ways and allow a more thorough understanding of the topic.  Greater understanding is a big step towards greater co-operation and problem-solving.

Years ago at a seminar on political protest, one of the speakers said something that has stuck with me ever since.  She said in order to be successful in a political protest, it was first necessary to recognize the humanity of one’s opponent.  In other words, merely demonizing the other is ineffective at best and can create a nasty backlash at worst.  Using proper debate etiquette and debating the issue without personally attacking one’s opponent has the radical effect of giving listeners the opportunity to make a decision based on logic and evidence.  It also leaves a door open to work with one’s “opponent” to affect change.

Just imagine the incredible positive change that could be affected if we treated one another with respect and kindness.

“Winners believe in their worth in advance of their performance.” – Denis Waitley

I woke up yesterday to find that about an inch of snow had fallen in the night.  Due to my disability, shovelling snow is a challenge for me, but with such a light covering I thought I might be able to get the job done myself.  I thought I’d have some breakfast and do the puzzles in the paper and wait a bit to see if it was going to snow some more before getting involved with shovelling.

I was halfway through the puzzles when I looked out the window to see my neighbor, Annette, walking down the road.  Annette has CP, so she was using her walker in the snow.  She was also carrying a shovel.

I went outside and called out, “Annette, what are you doing?”

She said, “Shovelling.”

She was there to dig me out.  She said she knew it was hard for me.  I grabbed a shovel, and it didn’t take the two of us very long to get ‘er done.  After Annette fell (she falls a lot), I invited her in for hot cocoa.  We chatted for a while and I found out that she had already shovelled her own drive and the drive of the woman who lives next to her who is on oxygen.  Annette’s plan had been to get us all dug out before we got up as a surprise.  I tell you, I admire this woman.  May each of us choose to do a little more than we think we can to help those in need.

“What is life for? It is for you.” – Abraham Maslov

Some days, let’s face it, are harder than others.  One minute the sun is shining and all is right with the world, and then… a bit of bad news hits like an 18 wheeler truck and I struggle to pull myself off the pavement.  I’m sure everyone has had at least one day like this.

It was going to be a fun day for Roger Anderson and his children and his daughter’s little friend.  They were going to “ski the Beav” on one of the few snowy weekends we’ve had this season.  Then their Honda Accord hit an icy spot on the road, Roger lost control, and they went into the Logan River where the car turned over.  Roger was able to get himself out, but the children were trapped.

Rescuers got into the river during below freezing weather to pull the three children – Baylor Anderson (4), Mia Anderson(9), and Kenya Wildman(9) - out of an overturned car, administer CPR, wrap the children in dry blankets, towels, etc., call 911, and drive them through the icy canyon to meet the ambulance.  These are the heroes (as listed in the January 15, 2012 The Herald Journal):

Bruce Wilden, Kaysville – went into water

Ben Belnap, Kaysville – went into water, pulled Mia from car

Morgan Carlson, North Logan – went into water, freed and performed CPR on Baylor

Victor Carlson, North Logan – went into water

Kristen Scott, Logan – performed CPR on Baylor

Scott Leishman, Nibley – went into water

Blake Dursteller, North Logan – went into water, drove victims to ambulance

David White, Smithfield – went into water

Chris Wilden, Ogden – went into water, shot out window (making it possible to save the children)

Leslie Pocock, Smithfield – flagged down passing motorists after seeing car go in the river (her own van had gone off the road nearby)

Buzzy Mullakhel, North Logan – helped get kids out of water

Erik Schaeling, Logan – helped get kids out of water

And there were others:  A “big man” performed the Heimlich Manuever on Baylor.  The rescuers speak of having help from angels to flip over the sedan.  There were Highway Troopers, Ambulance and other rescue personnel, and the medical professionals that treated the children at Primary Children’s Medical Center and Logan Regional Hospital.

We never know when we might be called upon to save the life of another.  If you haven’t taken a CPR/First Aid course recently, I hope this story inspires you to do so.

“Everybody has to try just a little bit harder, do just a little bit better, think just a little deeper, work just a little longer.” – Mary Lou Retton

I’ve been reading a lot about water lately.  One day I hear about Jenna Forsyth, a student heading out to Kenya to pilot a water purification project, another day I hear about a drought in Tuvalu so severe that desalinated sea water is rationed, and flooding has been a problem in many places across the globe most recently affecting Thailand.  The eastern seaboard of the United States is rebuilding after severe weather destroyed whole neighborhoods.  And the folks in Nevada are having to look farther and farther afield to find enough water.

The area I live in suffered from flooding last spring.

Water.

We absolutely have to have it in order to survive.  A lack of it or an over-abundance of it will displace people who live in drought-stricken or flooded areas.  Where will they go?  What can displaced people be reasonably expected to do for themselves?  Will they ever be able to return to their homes or must they start over?  What can be done to assist them both in the initial crisis and long-term relocation?  What can be done to improve the quality of our water?  What can be done to conserve the water that we have?

These are serious and difficult questions.

Things you can do to improve the water situation:

1.  Be very careful about what you put down the drain. 

     a.  Never put medication of any kind down the drain or in the toilet.  Instead, drop off unused medications at an approved site.        (Here in Logan you can drop off unused medications at the police station or at Bear River Health Department.) 

     b.  Use bio-friendly products to clean your home instead of harsh chemicals.

     c.  Never put paint, solvents, or other chemicals down the drain.  Contact your local Environmental Department to find out about proper disposal.

2.  Conserve water.

     a.   Xeriscape your garden.  Talk to a landscape specialist about how best to conserve water in your garden.

     b.  Get a low-flow shower head and a low-flow toilet for your bathroom.

     c.  Take shorter showers or shower with a friend.

     d.  Use the dishwasher instead of hand-washing dishes.

     e.  Use a bucket instead of the hose for washing your car.  Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your garage, walkway, or driveway.

3.  Volunteer for or give money to an organization that is working to provide drinking water, help displaced persons, or rebuild after flooding.  In Logan, C.E.R.T. volunteers help during disasters in their neighborhoods.

 

“The prize goes to the person who sees the future the quickest.” – William Stiritz

Due to the dramatic weather effects of global warming, the cost of nutritious food has gone way up.  However, the formula determining who qualifies for food stamps and how much help each household should receive has remained the same.  There is a larger demand for and a smaller availability of fresh, drinkable water.  Legal battles are being waged for rights to the Colorado River and regardless of who wins, the loss will be significant for the other side.  There is a need for well-educated citizens able to do specialized work, but education has had its funding cut from pre-school to graduate school.  The manufacturing jobs that used to employ the middle class are being shipped overseas, notably to China.  Unless we find a way to turn the tide and quickly, I see a frightening upsurge of criminal activity, violence, rioting, and class strife in our near future.  Send me your ideas.  I’ll share a few of mine:

Food: 

1.  I’ve advocated growing your own food before and will bring it up again.  Yes, it can cost a bit to get started as you purchase containers, soil, seeds, plant food and other supplies, but nothing tastes better or is more nutritious than fruits and vegetables grown organically in your own garden.  Get advice from your local garden store on which plants grow best in your area and how to make them thrive.

2.  Buy in bulk.  Beans, rice, oatmeal, flour, sugar, salt, pasta, nuts – all of these are less expensive bought in bulk.

3.  Don’t be glued to the name brand of anything.  Buy generic or use coupons.  If your grocery store has a member awards card – sign up for it. 

4.  If you can’t afford fresh produce, buy frozen.   Frozen fruits and vegetables have almost as much nutrition as fresh and definitely more than canned produce.

5.  Write to your representatives asking for a review of the formula for food stamps.

Water:

Aside from working to reverse global warming, I think it would be a good idea to give up on lawns that require huge quantities of water and xeriscape instead.  A xeriscape is a landscape that is filled with native and other plants that can live in the local climate without being watered from an irrigation or sprinkling system.  It would also be a good idea to work with drought resistant crops.  Also, water should not be provided for or polluted by drilling for natural gas.  (This process requires millions of gallons of water for each well.  The water becomes extremely toxic in the process, and if the drilling goes wrong ground water can become undrinkable.)

Education:

I have two proposals here.  One is that public, state funded education be available from preschool through four years of college.  A high school diploma has not been sufficient to get a job that will provide for a family in a long time.  The other is that we completely overhaul the way education is paid for in the USA.  Funding schools through property taxes means that each district has a different budget and therefore, different challenges in providing the best education to students.  I don’t know what type of taxes could be used to fund schools equitably, but it certainly is worth looking at and working on.

Jobs, jobs, jobs.  If we want to see manufacturing jobs return to the US, we have to purchase goods made in the USA.  This will definitely cost more since manufacturing jobs overseas pay slave wages.  You can’t convince me that 25 cents an hour is enough for anyone to live on anywhere in the world.  The real cost of goods includes living wages for the people making them.  I know that things are tight, but when we buy locally manufactured goods we provide jobs for the people in our community.  I would strongly suggest boycotting stores that are stocked almost exclusively with goods manufactured overseas such as Wal-Mart.  I would also suggest writing to American companies that are sending jobs overseas, such as Coke, to express your disapproval.  The way you spend your money can be powerful, so take control of that power.

“When you truly believe in something, and you carry it in your heart, you accept no excuses, only results.” – Ken Blanchard

Ari LeVaux, contributor to Writers of the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org), is baffled by the federal raid on the Rawesome raw-food club.  This private, members-only club is for folks who want raw food including raw milk from heirloom cattle varieties.  And that’s the problem.  Even though raw milk is legal in California (where Rawesome is located), it is only legal to obtain it from Organic Pastures, the one certified raw-milk label and they breed Holsteins.  Why raw milk?  Why heirloom cattle?  How on earth did a guy get arrested for providing folks with a beverage that’s been drunk for thousands of years?  And, most concerning, Why did our government fund “a multi-year, multi-agency undercover investigation to root out information that nobody was trying to hide” while no charges or investigations have been done on Cargill, the company responsible for deadly ground turkey getting into our food supply and onto our children’s school lunch plates?

Some people (myself included) prefer raw milk because the natural enzymes are intact.  Pasteurized milk is safer to drink because the heat kills off any dangerous microbes present such as salmonella and E. coli.  However, the fact that milk is raw does not mean it necessarily contains deadly microbes.  In the 12 years that Rawesome has been providing raw milk to its members, no one has gotten sick.

Rawesome members want raw milk from heirloom cattle because it contains different proteins than Holstein cattle.  It seems that in light of this demand, California should look into certifying dairies that can provide a variety of raw milk sources.  However, since James Stewart (club founder and manager) did not wait for the dairies providing him with raw milk to be certified, he has been charged with 13 counts.  This, despite the fact that he only provided the raw milk to club members who each signed a form stating they are aware of the dangers inherent in raw milk and despite their being no victims.

The federal undercover investigation of the club is truly hard to understand.  Rawesome kept scrupulous records of the source of each batch of raw milk that were available for all members.  Why on earth did it take over a year, multiple agencies, unmarked vehicles, and multiple spies to make the arrest?  Why even bother to arrest the leader of a group of raw foodies and seize their food?

To me, this seems like a waste of time, money, and resources.  Especially when you consider the total lack of oversight concerning Cargill.  You probably are not familiar with this major supplier of ground turkey because it appears on the grocery store shelves under dozens of different names – never as “Cargill.”  On August 3rd, Cargill issued a voluntary recall of 36 million pounds of ground turkey.  You may think it was a sign of responsibility that they recalled 36 million pounds of ground turkey exposed to drug resistant salmonella.  I think it is shocking that they waited four months after people began getting sick (and at least one person dying) before acting.  I think it is shocking that no one at Cargill has been arrested.  I think it is shocking that they are allowed to continue with their business without an investigation as to how so much meat became tainted.  Why is Cargill, with its bevy of victims, allowed to self-police?

I urge each of us to be aware of the nutritive value of the food we eat, where it comes from, and what dangers there may be in eating it.  And while I sympathize with James Stewart and the Rawesome members, I urge you to follow the law.  I love raw milk, but it isn’t legal in Utah, so even though I live in the middle of dairy country I don’t even try to obtain it.  I would urge lawmakers to change the law so that people can legally obtain raw milk from a variety of cattle breeds.